Bad behavior jeopardizing late-night CB to Gunnison RTA bus

The Gunnison Valley Regional Transit Authority’s (RTA) last bus run of the night from Crested Butte to Gunnison is causing trouble. It’s not the vehicle or the driver, but the behavior of passengers.

“Oh, we have issues,” began RTA executive director Scott Truex, presenting the problem to RTA board members at the October meeting. “The late-night bus has become the party bus. I have lots of interesting video if you’d like to see it.”

The general manager for Alpine Express, J. P. Frymoyer, described the scene as, “The trash bin full of beer cans, people vaping, gambling in the aisles. Late at night, Highway 135 is like an elk pinball game, so the driver can’t deal with this.” The bus, he added, has experienced “a rash of vomits.”

“When someone vomits on the bus, it makes a mess almost impossible to clean,” added Truex. Never mind that it’s not typically discovered until the next morning, which makes the morning commute on that bus unpleasant.

Discussion among RTA board members included suggestions to add a security guard to the bus periodically, and the need to properly educate riders regarding acceptable behavior.

Gary Pierson, Western State Colorado University’s vice president of student affairs, suggested a communications campaign through the Student Government Association at the university. He volunteered to spearhead that effort, saying that if these are students, they are violating the university code of conduct.

It’s not known for sure whether any of the perpetrators are students. Frymoyer said security cameras on the bus have helped identify a couple of faces, and those individuals have been contacted.

County commissioner and RTA board member John Messner wondered aloud whether it might be beneficial for RTA for charge a fare to ride the last bus of the night to help pay for a security presence.

The RTA will take all suggestions into consideration in its efforts to remedy the problem. Truex said it’s long been a popular bus, a convenience for late-shift workers. He hopes to be able to remedy this spate of bad behavior in order to continue that last run of the evening.